I find both to be a waste. If there is natural pollen available they will ignore the pollen substitute. If there is not, then you fool them into brooding when they probably shouldn't be. If you try to feed syrup when it's cold they can't take it. If you get a warm spell and they do and they brood up too early they get caught on the brood and starve. I find it's much better to let them stay in synch with their climate and their flows than it is to fool them into doing what their instincts correctly tell them not to do...

Mike is right on. If you are not heading south and going to vigorously feed bees both pollen and syrup to get them ready for almond pollination then dont waste your time or money. Check to make sure they have adequate feed in mid to late March when temps get into the 40s and you will be fine.

If there is natural pollen available they will ignore the pollen substitute.

I have developed so good substitute from soya-pollen-yeast thay bees continue substiutute eating up to apple blooming. Then they get so good variety of pollen that they need not patty. Weather are so good too that out temp does not hinder pollen gathering.

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If you try to feed syrup when it's cold they can't take it. If you get a warm spell and they do and they brood up too early they get caught on the brood and starve. I find it's much better to let them stay in synch with their climate and their flows than it is to fool them into doing what their instincts correctly tell them not to do...

Syrup feeding does not add brood rearing in Spring. The limiting factors are the number of nurzser bees and cluster size. Suga feeding only fills combs.

Beehive must allways have two full frames of honey or sugar surup. It is 5 kg food.

If there is more food frames, I take them off. So queen has space to lay.

In Spring I've open fed pollen sub for several years now just as soon as I notice the willows budding out. Some years the bees are all over it and some years they ignore it. I don't have need to check for stores as I use MB's dry sugar method which pretty much assures plenty of sugar stores if honey stores run low. I use pollen sub (and dry sugar) as insurance only, and is why I only OPEN feed it.

I 'suspect' that during the times the pollen sub is ignored also coincides with the times SKUNK CABBAGE is plentiful as it will bloom well before our willows, even in the snow, actually melting an area around it.

My bees always find it and LOVE it, stink and all 8-)

Logged

"Trust those who seek the truth, doubt those who say they've found it."

Hmmm, now that’s another interesting idea; open feeding pollen sub. I hadn’t thought of that. I might just give that a try this spring. Thanks T Beek. I’ve been wanting to experiment with some Whey as a pollen sub and open feeding may really give me a better chance of observing if the bees go for it or not.

In my area, there seems to be plenty of pollen sources just as soon as the bees can fly so I don’t bother to feed pollen or syrup in the spring. However if you have a hive that is short on pollen for whatever reason, it won’t start building up in the spring, until it gets pollen.

I have placed pollen sub in an empty hive body in the sun. Early spring they will tear into it on fly days. I have had them ignore this at times too.It is really surprising how early they find pollen when there is weather to fly.